The Moratorium on Deportations Campaign will attend press conference in Solidarity with the 21 immigrant youth arrested on Washington DC, and for the occasion releases the following SOLIDARITY STATEMENT:
The Moratorium on Deportations Campaign expresses solidarity and support with all immigrant youth arrested yesterday, July 20th, in Washington DC., while realizing a sit-in in various Senators’ offices, in their struggle for the passage of the Dream Act, legislation that would provide a path for the legalization of some of the 12 million undocumented immigrants presently in the United States.
We call authorities to assure the families and communities affected that no one of the brave youth will be deported as result of these arrests. Their action highlights the desperation of immigrant families, and their youth are standing up to make a political case through direct action, because other political means of participation are denied to them.
As Obama restated, the immigration system is broken, and these students’ resolution accentuates the point. But their action exposes how the political system is broken too. Are the politicians in Washington wait for a whole generation to be arrested and deported before deciding to do something about the millions of live living in the shadow?
Yes, the system is broken, and before the undocumented can be part of the debate to fix it, deportations and other forms of immigration enforcement must be stopped, now. The state of injustice in which the undocumented live gets only heightened by the fear of deportation for taking political in their own behalf.
As the SB1070 anti-immigrant racist law in Arizona is scheduled to be enacted in July 29th, we, in the Moratorium on Deportations Campaign, take pride in the courageous youth and set to continue their fighting example by calling in all immigrant rights advocates to a rally outside of Cook County Jail.
As ICE deports one thousand plus people a day, on July 29th at 4 pm, we will gather in that number or more to show the administration and the public opinion how does a thousand people look like. Hidden to sight of all by the deportations allies, that for many Chicagoans it includes Cook County Jail, a thousand families are distressed every day.
Free the Dream Act activists, without reprisal!
End Deportations Now!
No to SB 1070!
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Press Advisory
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, July 21 Event
21 IMMIGRANT YOUTH ARE ARRESTED AND RISK DEPORTATION,
STAGE SIT-IN AT CONGRESSIONAL OFFICES ON CAPITOL HILL
9 of them are members of the Chicago based Organization, Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL)
WHAT: Press conference in support of our courageous Chicago undocumented youth that were arrested on Tuesday, July 20th Action after their sit-ins at various Congressional offices in D.C. including Senator Menendez, Senate majority leader Reid, Senator Feinstein, Senator McCain, and Senator Schumer offices to ask them to become a co-sponsor of the DREAM Act as standalone.
WHEN: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 at 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: 205 W. Randolph St. (outside of the Illinois Republican Party offices)
WHO: Immigrant Youth Justice League (IYJL) members, Local Elected officials, immigrant advocates of the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), Latinos Progresando, students, teachers and leaders from diverse organizations across Chicago and suburbs.
Members of the Immigrant Youth Justice League will be available for interviews.
WHY: After two months of coast-to-coast actions, including dozens of sit-ins, civil disobedience actions, and protracted hunger strikes by both undocumented youth and community members, they have decided to bring the cause of their lives to Washington D.C. The immigrant youth participating in yesterday’s action hail from Illinois, Virginia, New York, California, Arizona, Kansas, Missouri, and Michigan and is part of three days full of actions at D.C.
On July 20th, hundreds of students from around the nation gathered in the nation’s capitol to lobby for the passage of the DREAM Act, including members of the Immigrant Youth Justice League. On this day, 20 DREAM students engaged in a civil action to show the Senate that it is time for the DREAM Act to become a reality.
As of 7 pm on July 20th, all DREAM students engaged in the action have been arrested, nine of which are members of the Immigrant Youth Justice League, a Chicago based group.
Due to these arrests, they are very likely to be placed under deportation proceedings.
-END-
The DREAM is Coming project is a collaboration between multiple organizations, including the New York State Youth Leadership Council, the Immigrant Youth Justice League, Dream Team Los Angeles, Kansas Missouri Dream Alliance, Arizona Dream Act Coalition, the Orange County Dream Team, University Leadership Initiative of Texas, Virginia DreamActivist, and DREAMActivist.org. To read the personal stories of the DREAMers, visit www.thedreamiscoming.com/meet-the-dreamers/
Regards;
Jose Herrera
773-632-9992
www.IYJL.org
Moratorium on Deportations Campaign 